Francis Magee

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Adam has been estranged from his whole family for several years, ever since their farm was wrecked by Foot & Mouth disease in 2001. Since then he has never stayed in one place for very long, preferring to keep moving around the country - as if constantly yearning for a fresh start. He's had multiple new jobs and various relationships, but now it looks like he can't stay away from home any longer. His younger brother Aiden is about to welcome his first child into the world, and he wants Adam to be there. Understanding that there's a good chance Adam won't show, Aiden warns him that if he doesn't, he never wants to see him again. As much as he misses his family though, returning home will bring up a lot of baggage that Adam isn't sure he's ready for just yet.

Jimmy Gralton is a political activist in the 1930s with strong communist values. Unfortunately, this doesn't put him in the best light for Ireland's Catholic church, who consider he, his friends and associates to be antichrists. Jimmy runs a dance hall whereby he makes his views heard as the people of his town enjoy music and socialising as well as learning together and creating happy memories. The local priest doesn't see it as such a great thing though and he subsequently does his best to convince his parishioners that the hall brings nothing but evil to the neighbourhood. Those for the continuation of the hall's practises suddenly find themselves violently up against the protesting Catholic community, and two things that were always supposed to be about peace and civic spirit suddenly become armies who'll stop at nothing to defend their values.

'Jimmy's Hall' is a shocking Irish drama based on a true story during the 'Red Scare' in Ireland in the 1930s. BAFTA nominated director Ken Loach ('Sweet Sixteen', 'My Name Is Joe', 'The Navigators') is at the helm alongside screenwriter Paul Laverty ('The Wind That Shakes the Barley', 'The Angels' Share', 'Cargo'). It is scheduled to be released in the UK on May 30th 2014.

Quiet and contained, this film feels like a TV movie due to its somewhat gentle look at a serious issue. But there's real strength in its performances. And it has something significant to say as well, without ever preaching.

Elisabeth (Blethyn) is a widow living in Guernsey, and when she hears about the 7 July 2005 bombings, she immediately phones her daughter in London to make sure she's OK. When she can't reach her, she heads to the city, quickly realising how little she knows about her life there. Meanwhile in France, Ousmane (Kouyate) also decides to head to London to find his son, whom he hasn't seen since he was 6. Soon, these two people realise they're on the same trail, and that their children knew each other.

Or else they are the devil, as this virtual clone of The Omen shows us. The Calling, a direct-to-video scare flick, is so faithful to its obvious source material that after about an hour I began to wonder where it would diverge. Sure enough, it's right there at the end, when mom (Laura Harris) can't take it any more and decides to off her Satanic son (Alex Roe-Brown) for real. Never mind the cultists (including her husband, Richard Lintern) -- a group that makes up virtually the entire populace of the Isle of Man, the odd choice for the setting of this picture.

Hallmark Entertainment produced something good? Sure enough, the family-friendly outfit has made what is undoubtedly the best version of Swiss Family Robinson ever produced. In fact, Disney's version of Swiss Family Robinson came out on DVD just a few weeks back, so its cheesiness is still fresh in my mind.

The guts of the story are the same, but gone are the goofy elephant rides, non-sequitur wildlife, and obnoxious antics of the Disney Robinsons, living in their antiseptic treehouses while single-handedly fighting off pirates with as much gravitas as Peter Pan.

Or else they are the devil, as this virtual clone of The Omen shows us. The Calling, a direct-to-video scare flick, is so faithful to its obvious source material that after about an hour I began to wonder where it would diverge. Sure enough, it's right there at the end, when mom (Laura Harris) can't take it any more and decides to off her Satanic son (Alex Roe-Brown) for real. Never mind the cultists (including her husband, Richard Lintern) -- a group that makes up virtually the entire populace of the Isle of Man, the odd choice for the setting of this picture.